Traditionally, there were only two occasions when pet owners bought new pet bowls–when they acquired a new pet, and when they needed a replacement bowl because the old one became worn out or chewed up. But this has changed in recent years, as pet industry trends have soaked through to the bowl category and given pet owners a number of other reasons to purchase these items.

One of the biggest pet industry trends that has affected the bowl category over the past few years has been the pet humanization trend. Pets have become members of the family, and their owners are treating them as such. This has created a demand for new feeding and watering products designed for pet health, pet travel and home décor.


Bowls For Health, Travel & Decor
Today’s feeding and watering bowls are designed to help optimize pet health. For example, raised feeders reduced neck strain while eating, and there are bowls designed to stop pets from eating too fast, helping stop obesity. Automated feeders also help overweight pets with portion control, and can be helpful for owners who have to leave pets alone for extended periods of time, and pet fountains provide filtered water that is always fresh and clean.

As members of the family, pets are traveling more, which means long car rides or flights to vacation destinations. The feeding and watering category has expanded to accommodate this trend, and manufacturers are now offering travel bowls, to-go watering products and traveling containers. This emerging category is catching on quickly with pet owners, says Zack Grey, owner of The Urban Pet retail chain in Los Angeles. “We’ve seen an increase in sales in the ‘travel’ sector,” he says. “From portable, collapsible bowls to canteen style with plastic bowls attached, these items fly off the shelf.” 

At home, pet owners want feeding and watering products that complement their personal design style. This means pet owners are choosing pets’ dishes with the same care they show their own china. Retailers should carry a number of bowls made of different materials with different designs so that each customer can find one that matches his or her personal taste.

In addition, instead of  the traditional practice of purchasing two bowls for a pet–one for food and one for water–many pet owners today choose to have multiple bowls for use in different places at different times. There has also been a rise in the popularity of “feeding collections.” These collections may include items such as placemats, treat jars and even coffee mugs for the pet owner. These sets are quite helpful in inspiring add-on sales, as once customers have found a bowl they like, they will often want a treat jar and other accessories to match.


Making Decisions
For retailers, this influx of new products has meant rethinking the role these products play within the store. In the past, many pet stores viewed bowls as a section that didn’t require much maintenance or attention. Today, however, careful planning is necessary in order to leverage the category properly.

The first key to making the most of the bowl category is product selection. Chris George, director of sales and marketing for Petrageous Designs, recommends that retailers carry a number of bowls in neutral colors and basic designs, then rotate fashion items around that core assortment. “Take in a couple of bright colors and fun designs around spring,” he says. “Then, in the fall, update [the display] with more earthy tones. This gives the effect that you’ve really updated your assortment.”

When customers see new items in a section, it creates a sense of excitement; but if they see the same display over and over, they will get bored. “If you have a customer who comes in and sees the same stuff every time, they don’t have the impulse to buy more stuff,” George says.

Milan Bhandari, sales manager at Pets Stop, also says that variety is key in merchandising pet bowls. “We try to talk [retailers] out of just buying a bunch of just one piece; you don’t know what the person walking in is going to be looking for. Having a varied selection is important–you don’t have to have a piece in every size and every color, but if you have a wide enough sampling, you can try to capture most of what people might be looking for.”


A Hands-On Experience
Once a store has decided on a product selection strategy, it must decide how it’s going to leverage the products within the store. Bowls sold with a collection of other items or for a particular purpose (like travel products and raised feeders) make great display items. For example, Jolly Pets’ Road Refresher, which is designed to be a no-spill travel bowl, can be filled with water and set out where customers can play with it to see how it works.

Nicole Ice, marketing director at Jolly Pets, says the pet industry is really a hands-on industry, no matter what category you’re talking about. “People want to see it and they want to touch it,” she explains. “And being able to see how something works really entices the consumer to purchase it.”

Bhandari even recommends placing raised feeders on the ground, rather than at eye level. That way, pet owners who bring their pet can see what size they would need and how much space the feeders would take up in their homes.

The rise of specialized pet bowls, as well as coordinated accessories, retailers has made it important for retailers to re-think the placement of these products within the store. Cross merchandising can be a powerful tool in this category. For example, travel bowls can be displayed near carriers, or near leashes and collars. 

Bowls with matching accessories should be shown as a collection, in order to maximize add-on sales. If a mug or treat jar matches the bowl a pet owner is buying, but is not located near the bowl, the pet owner is unlikely to see it. But, when the items are displayed next to each other, they are more likely to garner attention and be sold together.